#Islam

These pictures are of the Bajram Pasa Mosque in Mitrovica , Kosovo. This Mosque was donated by the municipality of Bayrampaşa in Istanbul. I saw this Mosque when I spent the summer in Kosovo, Albania and Montenegro. When seeing this Mosque it reminded me of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. The Hagia Sophia and the Bajram Pasa Mosque have a bunch of similarities. They both have a dome in the center where under the dome you see there are windows going all the way around. Both also have minarets around the the Hagia Sophia having four and the Bajram Pasa having two. Both at one point were Mosques the Hagia Sophia originally was a church then a mosque now a museum and the Bajram Pasa was created a mosque and has remained the biggest one in Kosovo. There are also many differences between the Hagia Sophia and Bajram Pasa one being their size althought the Bajram Pasa is the biggest mosque in Kosovo it is no where near as grand as the Hagia Sophia. The Bajram Pasa exterior has colorful arches and looks like a building that just has a dome on top. Meanwhile the Hagia Sophia gives you feelings like you are floating on clouds. Although both are beautiful and have a dome the architecture behind them are both very different.

I purchased this journal about a year ago, and I recently found out the intricate artwork is akin to the design outside a building in Iran. Although the packaging did not give credit to the designs origin, it is very clearly an exact replica of the pattern on the Mosque. The Seyyed Mosque in Isfahan, Iran was made during the 13th century. It serves as a more recent interpretation of Islamic art, but has all the elements of a classical piece. Nowhere in the bright blue design is there a realistic portrayal of people or animals. Despite the fact that they are styled differently the abundance of arches are also seen in the Great Mosque of Cordova. The symmetrical patterns are also reminiscent of not only the Great Mosque, but also the domed roof of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. The Hagia Sophia also contains an inverse color scheme with a majority of the color yellow and a few blue accents, whereas in the mosque above the colors are blue with yellow accents. It would make sense that they are designed similarly because the two countries of Iran and Turkey share a border allowing for architectural and cultural diffusion.

I was exploring and looking around the library when I stumbled upon this book titled “Great Ages of Man: Early Islam” by Desmond Stewart. The cover of this book relates to Unit 2 of our class. The figures on the cover can be compared to the Justinian Mosaic. Both pieces feature figures which appear similar, but have their own distinct traits. The figures on the book appear the same, just with different colored clothing and wings. In comparison, the figures in Justinian Mosaic all appear the same but with different clothing and pieces they’re holding. In contrast, most Islamic art at the time did not have figures displayed. The mihrab in the Great Mosque of Cordoba features a similar design to the center of the book’s cover. The horseshoe arch in the Great Mosque of Cordoba is visually similar to the shape on the center of the book. However, as a whole piece, they are complete opposites in the utilization of figures. It’s very interesting to be able to find pieces of art related to our Art1010 class in the Brooklyn College Library. It really helps us connect to the material in class and definitely makes me appreciate the class more.

-Ahmed, Team Mars

#1010Unit2

References

Stewart, D. (1974). Great Ages of Man Early Islam. New York: Time Life.

In the article There’s no such thing as Islamophobia , the author discusses various topics regarding Islam and people involved in it. He discusses double standards we have in today’s world and gives us possible reasons as of what have brought us to where we are today. “Religion of the Koran, a “practical and indulgent” religion, better adapted to indigenous people’s, while Christianity is “too complicated, too abstract, too austere for the rudimentary and materialist mentality of the Negro.” Seeing Islam as a civilizing force that “removes peoples from fetishism and its degrading practices” and thus facilitates European penetration, the author calls for an end to prejudices that equate this confession with barbarism and fanaticism, castigating the “Islamophobia” prevalent among colonial personnel.”(Pascal Bruckner) In this quote, word barbarian is used to speak of Christianity and the way they colonized and reinforced their beliefs and religion upon people in Africa. However, means of the word here has nothing to do with the rest of the article. I highly urge all of you to read the original text and draw your own conclusions as of what’s written and what is being told. The way I understood it is that this article is directed towards the millennials and such, it’s directed towards us – for us to be informed. The author wants us to know about the double standards everyone is closing their eyes on. In today’s society anything said against ISIS or other terrorists is being compared to saying those negative things against the entire Muslim society.. Why? Those who compare actual Muslims to terrorists are the ones assuming that they share the same beliefs. Like what happened with the guy who posted something about ISIS, everyone started attacking him for comparing Muslims to Isis terrorist, when he really wasn’t. People have to stop thinking what others are thinking, because that way they are themselves setting certain stereotypes and boundaries for certain people without acknowledging it. The way this term – barbarian is used, is pretty much different to the way they use the term in Herodotus Excerpts. “. For Asia, with all the various tribes of Barbarians that inhabit it, is regarded by Persians as their own; but Europe and the Greek race they look on as a distinct and separate.” (Herodotus Excerpts) Here they talk about the different kind of people inhabiting those areas, and they are called Barbarians just based off of their difference to the common people of Greece. The term has now been given a different feeling to it. One is talking about people being different, and one is talking about people acting ‘wrong’ I’d say. However, it could be considered similar in a way that both of the terms are made to indicate something unusual – those people in Asia practice things unusual and different to those in Greece, and it’s understandable why one wouldn’t be able to understand another. For those ‘Barbarians’, people of Greece might have been also considered ‘Barbarian’. The ‘barbaric’ practice was something considered unusual and different for people of Africa, so I see how those two things be different yet so similar at the same time.

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